Read more
"From which evaluative foundation should we develop public policies designed to promote wellbeing among different cultural groups in different circumstances? This book seeks to advance an objective, universal theory of cultural evaluation grounded in a eudaemonic account of human wellbeing. The approach brings together a 'thick vague' conception of the good; a determinate, particularist conception of circumstance; an egalitarian moral philosophy with concessions to sufficientarianism, and a normative functionalist view of culture, to assess the value of cultural institutions to those that they affect. Engaging closely with needs and capabilities paradigms, the approach seeks to identify and explain cultural deficits in given circumstances. The applicability of the theory is illustrated through analysis of the effect of settler-indigenous relations on Aboriginal Australian people. This book is ideal for students and scholars of cultural theory and public policy"--
List of contents
List of Illustrations Note on the Author Acknowledgements Introduction 1. The Case Against Cultural Evaluation: Relativism, Culturalism and Romanticism 2. Needs, Goods and Self-actualization 3. Capabilities, Zero-sum Choices and Equality 4. What is Culture? What does it do? What should it do? 5. Circumstance, Materialism and Possibilism 6. Applying the Theory: Sources of Harm in Aboriginal Australian Communities Conclusion Endnotes Bibliography Index
Report
Johnson's book is a challenging and highly controversial defence of cultural evaluation. Its philosophical range is exceptionally wide, while its political engagement is informed and sophisticated. Focusing on the case of Aboriginal Australians, Johnson shows both the need for cultural evaluation and the dangers of intervention. This is a book which will be read with profit by anyone working on the politics of cultural diversity.
Sue Mendus, Department of Politics, University of York, UK
This book is remarkable in its ambition. By suggesting an objective basis on which cultures might be evaluated, it seeks to advocate interventions that prevent serious damage to human well-being. This provocative and insightful argument will stimulate significant debate as we grapple with a rapidly globalising world in which different cultures become increasingly intertwined.
Shane O'Neill, School of Politics, International Studies and Philosophy, Queen's University Belfast, UK
Evaluating cultures is one of the most complex and controversial tasks of our age. In examining how we should tackle it, Matthew Johnson's ambitious and carefully crafted study provides answers that are unusually bold in content and wide-ranging in scope. His book is essential reading for all who have to grapple with the phenomenon of culture and its significance for human wellbeing.
Peter Jones, School of Geography, Politics and Sociology, University of Newcastle, UK.
